I Maintain a Fit Body Eating Lots of Carbs

To this day I dislike being called skinny. I have had my share of teasing as a kid and even into adulthood. Body shaming goes both ways in this life.

What's important is loving yourself right where you are while working toward your goals. It wasn't until discovering how to build curves with resistance training that my life changed for the better.

I was blessed with my Dad's genetics and thankful, but it has been a challenge to put on weight including muscle. I'm also constantly hungry and seem to burn up energy faster than the average person. I turn to healthy carbs to fuel my body and feel good throughout the day. I can feel lightheaded if I go too long without eating, especially carbs. Some of the carbs I eat on a regular basis include:

• oats
• quinoa
• seeded whole grain bread
• whole grain tortillas
• sweet and white potatoes
• brown rice
• veggies and fruits
• 100% juice (pomegranate, green juice)

My metabolism seems to work faster than I can fuel and it can be frustrating. Some say they can just look at food and gain 5lbs whereas if I look at food, my body says let's burn it up. I will not exercise if I feel hungry and prefer to down a healthy meal before hitting the weights. I'm definitely not a candidate for fasting to improve athletic performance or to reduce body fat.

I just so happen to be one of those people on the other side of the spectrum that works hard to gain weight. This doesn't mean I want to gain by eating lots of crap to achieve skinny fat. My goal is to maintain or increase lean muscle mass by eating quality healthy carbs, lean proteins, and healthy fats.

Genetics do play a small role in your physical appearance, but you absolutely have the power to change things by what you eat and how you challenge your body. I work hard and eat to support my goals. I don't believe in diets nor do I teach that in my personal training practice.

Genetics may predispose some of us to obesity but that doesn't mean we're to accept it and not try to be a healthy person. The same goes for lean genetics like mine. We're all on this fitness journey together with differing body types and how they function.

Regardless of your body makeup, it's important to put up a fight for what you want and not give up.

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Why It Takes Work to Get Fit the Right Way

Life doesn't promise easy, fair, happiness, or even health. In fact, life is hard and work is required and never an option. It's up to you to create the lifestyle that you want to live. Agreed?

This won't be found in a jar, pill, powder, or shake. If popping a 'fit pill' provided the body of your dreams, I certainly wouldn't be writing a health blog. Quick fixes are not the way to getting fit the right way.

Sound evidence has supported the best way to achieve a fit body is through a healthy lifestyle. You may be aware of some of the requirements of how to get fit but a short list is below:

• consistent healthy food intake
• regular exercise
• plenty of rest
• drinking lots of water
• balancing life

Sounds like a great plan and very doable. The problem is many of you still aren't willing to put in the work. Nothing tastes better than healthy feels, remember? So, what gives?

Great marketing has convinced many of you there's a quick fix to fitness. This strong belief in false guarantees has taken away the drive and motivation to get fit the right way. False claims only provide false hope, take your money, and cause frustration.

The only way to achieve health and fitness is eating right and sweat producing work. Trendy diets and pills don't teach you how to shop for healthy foods, cook the stuff, and meal plan. They surely don't sprout legs and exercise so that you absorb the activity benefits.

What usually occurs with quick-fix programs is some initial weight loss because of being so calorically restrictive and unrealistic. Your body is running on an empty tank and experiencing typical negative side effects like dizziness, headache, and nutrient deficiencies. Your energy can become low and frustration high struggling through a program that just doesn't feel good.

Studies show restrictive fad diets are unable to be sustained and any weight lost is put back on plus more. When the focus shifts to eating healthy and not dieting, realistic results can be achieved. This is where the work comes in. 

Fitness takes work. You get up and go to a job each day to supply your needs and wants, right? The same applies to improving your health. Getting fit requires time, energy, and eating healthy food. The work is challenging but the results rewarding. It changes you, makes you stronger, and able to enjoy your body and life overall. 

Believing you can become healthy through gimmicks can no longer be an option. That would be comparable to owning the golden goose and not having to put in your eight to five for a living. Not realistic and not going to happen.

You are no stranger to what work feels like. It can be rewarding and provide an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. The results of hard work are being able to achieve and have what you want and desire in life. Work is never optional and something you have to do to succeed.

The bottom line is having a fit body requires work but you must be willing to put in the time and actions to achieve your goals.

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Be well and Stay Healthy

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Achieving a Hot Body Is More About Health Than Vanity

Do you want a hot body? Of course, and there's nothing wrong with that. Who doesn't want to feel good about their outward appearance after working so hard to get in shape? Looking fit on the outside says a lot about how you're living. Fitness is a lifestyle and being healthy has nothing to do with vanity. 

Getting fit and achieving the body you want is a goal that will look different for everyone. Some may want to get lean and tone, while others may want more muscle definition. Whatever your body goals, they are achievable at every age.

As you age, you should feel especially proud of maintaining a hot body. Personally, I feel honored to be over 50 with a youthful attitude. Age is just a number and not a definition of fitness. Getting older doesn't mean you become frumpy or even old. Fitness is really about having a positive attitude and maintaining your health at every stage in life. 

Making health a priority certainly helps you achieve a nice body. One of the top fitness goals is to be able to wear whatever you want plus look good naked. 

Being healthy and fit feels great, fun, and sexy. When you stand in front of a mirror, you should like what you see and feel confident with your body. However, many of us bash our bodies always finding something we think needs fixing. There's nothing wrong with wanting to improve your physical fitness but chronic feelings of not liking yourself aren't considered a healthy mindset. 

Goals to achieve a hot body are awesome and healthy. This is part of becoming a better person than you were yesterday. It doesn't matter your age or circumstance, improved fitness makes your life better. Maintaining a good body helps you feel better about your life and self. It creates and promotes a quality life physically and emotionally. 

Healthy lifestyles create healthy bodies. Maintaining your body has so many health, self, and relationship benefits. Besides looking good naked, you also feel healthy, less stress, decreased illness, more confident, and even improved sex life. All these have nothing to do with vanity but just wanting to feel good about yourself. 

Achieving a hot body also improves your confidence, well-being, and feelings of accomplishment. It's just one result of living a healthy lifestyle reflected outwardly. There is a sense of pride that goes along with the fruits of fitness labor. These benefits help keep you motivated to take care of yourself. 

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How to Reach and Maintain Your Fitness Goals

Once we reach our fitness goals, are they really done? I hope the answer for all of you is a resounding -  NO. Staying fit by maintaining a healthy life is the real goal. 

Without maintaining your fitness, what was all the hard work for? Life is the event deserving of your best healthy self. Sure, you may be motivated by a special occasion, or to fit into a swimsuit, but those are only short-term goals. 

Staying fit through maintenance means you're in this for the long haul. You have made a personal commitment to a healthy lifestyle and enjoying a quality life through the process. 

Living healthily is a continual process of eating right, regular exercise, and plenty of rest. When you work hard to lose weight, reduce body fat, and gain muscle, just letting all that go doesn't make sense. For example, it has taken me decades to develop mature muscle. Without continual challenging workouts and proper fuel, I could easily lose it to atrophy. Did you know deconditioning of your muscle begins after two weeks of not exercising according to some studies? 

Staying fit also means being happy and comfortable with your new lifestyle. You are in a good place physically and mentally. It allows you to enjoy the fruits of your fitness accomplishments. Sometimes your confidence can be boosted to the point of self-challenge with fitness competitions or marathons. This can be awesome and rewarding. Most of us just want to feel really good about our body and health.

  

Drawbacks

Unfortunately, many individuals fail to maintain fitness once goals are reached and return to unhealthy habits. This is probably one of the hardest things to see as a trainer and can be difficult for the individual who worked hard to achieve so much. What happened? 

People are looking for temporary fixes instead of lifelong results is what happened. Fitness is considered a burden eliminating fun foods and adding uncomfortable workouts to life. This mindset isn't ready to see fitness as an enjoyable and beneficial lifestyle. Wearing that bikini felt great for a minute, but once the winter months arrive, all that fad fitness is tossed aside. Unhealthy habits return along with an unhealthy body. 

How to Stay Fit

In order to stay fit, it requires living healthy full-time. Your body achieves and maintains what the mind believes is the new motto. Falling in love with the process of taking care of your body exemplifies the best of fitness maintenance. It's important to move beyond short-term goals and into the full-time maintenance of your healthy body. This is done by following healthy guidelines used to reach and maintain your goals including:

• Eat healthy or clean 80-90 percent of the time. 
• Consume a wide variety of healthy macronutrients. 
• Consume a mostly plant-based diet (60% of food intake should come from plant foods) 
• Exercise at least 3 days per week (5 is optimal).
• Strength train at least 2 times weekly.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Maintain flexibility by stretching post-workout, or as part of relaxation technique.
• Get plenty of sleep (6-8 hours).
• Reduce stress by balancing your priorities and enjoying more free time.
• Meditation/prayer is helpful.

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How to Turn Intentions Into Action to Achieve Your Goals

We all have good intentions and dream about fulfilling them. Somehow they get pushed aside and forgotten. Well, not really forgotten, because they continue to dance across the pages of your thoughts. At least this is the case for me. Can you relate?

Are you guilty of not following through on good intentions to make something happen? Have you started that fitness program or kept your promise to eat healthier? If not, why?

Research indicates individuals who make a plan are the most successful. In order to turn those intentions into action and achieve your goals, consider trying this approach:

1. Write down your goals - be specific and honest. I want to lose fat, gain muscle, feel better, be healthier, look good naked, become more flexible, reduce chronic pain. These are just a few examples. 
2. Plan how to achieve those goals - re-arrange priorities, better time management, keep a fitness journal, eat healthier, exercise 4-5 times per week, get more sleep.
3. Turn your plans into action - focus on your health, follow-through on scheduled workouts, toss the junk food, cook healthy food at home, write down daily achievements, limit alcohol intake, get to bed earlier, drink more water. 

Looks simple when you see it on paper. It actually does make the process easier when you think about it as directions to a healthy life. Following a plan helps you stay on track and feel less overwhelmed.

Moving from intention to action takes good planning. It can be applied to most everything in life from painting the house, spending more time with family, to adopting a healthy lifestyle. It helps you stay true to taking care of the important things.

What has helped me is setting up challenge systems where I complete three goals of intention for that day. For example, today I plan to get in a morning workout, take my ailing father to the doctor, and cook a healthy dinner. Setting realistic daily goals is a great way to feel accomplished. It also provides motivation to repeat the process.

The Bottom Line

Having good intentions are great but remain thoughts until you put them into action. Goals to improve your health and fitness won't happen without effort. Follow-through is what will create better health, a fit body, and overall improved quality of life.

Those things you think about all the time must come to the forefront of your actions. Has a family member or friend been on your mind to call?  Pick up the phone. Has date night with your spouse been put off for months? Time to bring on the romance. Are the intentions to exercise four times a week not happening? Get your calendar, schedule your workouts, and don't cancel. Do you want to eat better at home and reduce dining out? Write a healthy food list and head to the store.

Every active step made is a step closer to fulfilling your goals and taking your intentions further than your mind. It's important not to get stuck in the 'thinking about it' process without any action. Good intentions only go so far and although they may sound good, living it out through your actions is what really counts.

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